Books published by publisher Sandpiper

Traces the origins of our favorite holiday customs and symbols, many of which antedate the first Christmas.Each of our holidays has its own familiar traditions: Trick-or-treating on Halloween, eating turkey on Thanksgiving, waiting for Santa Claus on Christmas, exchanging cards on Valentine’s Day. But where do these customs come from, when did they begin, and why do we continue to observe them?In the engaging blend of careful research and lively prose that has earned her books a lasting place on the holiday bookshelf, Edna Barth explores the multicultural origins and evolution of the familiar and not-so-familiar symbols and legends associated with our favorite holidays. Full of fascinating historical details and little-known stories, these books are both informative and engaging. Festively illustrated by Ursula Arndt, they are now available again in hardcover as well as paperback editions, featuring new, eye-catching jacket designs, and fun holiday activities inside the paperback covers. Each book includes an annotated list of holiday stories and poems and an index.

The children in Timpetill are so rotten, ill-behaved, and just all-around unpleasant that one night all the grown-ups in town leave for good. It falls to the kids to take care of themselves, and doing so is a lot harder than it looks. Not only must Thomas, Michael, and his friends figure out how to turn on the town's water, run the electricity, and feed a population of whiny children but they have do all that while battling a gang of the very worst kids--the ones who brought down this strange punishment in the first place.

Climb aboard the picnic buses for a happy hippoholiday! This lively rhyming story of a seaside romp where hippopotamamas, papas, sons, and daughters are soaking up the sun, strolling along the boardwalk, and dancing around the maypole makes a perfect read-aloud. “Seeming to spill off the pages with their jollity, Everitt’s spirited illustrations are sure to endear these playful creatures to kids--who will have as much fun as the hippos do.”--Publishers Weekly

Simon and his mom don't have much--the cardboard house they built for themselves, a tiny Christmas tree, and a picture of an angel pinned to one wall. On Christmas Eve they take in a frail stranger who needs a place to keep warm, and the next morning Simon wakes early to find that the woman has vanished. Instead, he sees December, the angel from the picture, with her wings fanned out over their cardboard house. Could she be real?

Something stopped Nita's hand as it ran along the bookshelf. She looked and found that one of the books had a loose thread at the top of its spine. It was one of those So You Want to Be a . . . books, a series on careers. So You Want to Be a Pilot, and a Scientist . . . a Writer. But his one said, So You Want to Be a Wizard.I don't belive this, Nina thought. She shut the book and stood there holding it in her hand, confused, amazed, suspicious--and delighted. If it was a joke, it was a great one. If it wasn't . . . ?